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School Attendance Rules

What do you think are the rules on Hogwarts school attendance in terms of if you have to go. I guess if your parents were magic, you could be home schooled but what about muggles? Say if I was a muggle, found out I was magic, but I didn't want to go to Hogwarts, I just wanted to go to the local junior high...what would they do? Obviously I couldn't just be wandering around firing untamed magic left and right...

Ignoring the fact that it's highly unlikely someone would not want to go, what do you think the policy would be?

Well, it's noted in DH that attendance at Hogwarts was never compulsory until Voldemort made it so that year. Parents always had the rights to send their children abroad or home school them if they wished.

Regarding Muggle-borns, however, I think that the Ministry or a representitive from the school, or both, would try very, very hard to pursuade the parents or the student to attend some sort of wizarding school because having an untrained young wizard loose in the Muggle world would be a risk to the Statute of Secrecy. I think that if they still refused to go to a wizarding school, they'd employ a tutor to go and teach the student at least how to control their magic so they're not such a threat.

I think that the student would still be subjected to wizarding law simply because they're a wizard and could be punished by the Ministry if they flouted the Statue of Secrecy, or the Restrictions for Underage Wizardry. He or she may not want to be part of that society but they really have no choice.

Perhaps there is a way to block or steal someone's magic so that they cannot use it. As far as I know there's no canonical basis for this, particularly since they don't use it on prisoners at Azkaban but depending on when your story is set (many decades or centuries before Trio era and has since been 'outlawed' or many decades or centuries after Trio era and has since been invented) it could work.

They could compel the student to go with threats of force or Obliviating their parents... or anything else.

They could kidnap the student and Obliviate him into not remembering that he's a Muggle born.

They could arrange for some lessons outside Hogwarts for the purposes of control but that's it. Personally, I highly doubt this one, but it's possible.

They could do nothing. I really doubt this one considering the International Statute of Secrecy. Though I've always wondered why they don't start training Muggle-borns earlier if they don't want people to find out about magic. If most wizard and witch children have uncontrolled spurts of magic, then shouldn't they get Muggle-borns into school much earlier than 11?

They would probably keep up a persistent argument that it is better for everyone if the child went to school and learned control. Maybe even by helping to cause a magical accident to help convince the parents.

Hmmm, interesting points. I don't like the thought of the kids being forces/coerced but in a lot of ways that makes sense. How likely to you guys think that would be? I can't see Kingley, for instance, whose supposed to be Mr. Anti-Corruption, doing that...But idk...maybe a few memory charms "for the greater good?" Haha

I thought about the private instruction idea, but I'm not exactly sure how that would work.

SapphireAtDawn, I agree they would have to be subject to wizarding laws and codes, just for everyone's safety. I guess it would be like a "learn real magic or you will probs end up in jail" thing...